Lessons from a Hate Crime Detective

A documentary presented by Not In Our Town and the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office

About the Film

Detective Ellen Vest, a five-foot-tall, twenty-nine-year veteran with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, has seen her laid-back beach community turn into a hotbed of skinhead activity with a sharp rise in bias-motivated crimes. This short film follows Vest to the streets of San Diego, the home of a victim, and to the training ground for new police cadets as she shares five lessons for law enforcement investigating hate crimes. Detective Vest’s stories from the field underscore the importance of identifying, investigating, and reporting hate motivation when officers arrive at a crime scene.

This film was produced in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office as part of the Not In Our Town: Working Together for Safe, Inclusive Communities Initiative.